Can wine go moldy?

[lizardbrains]

A friend of ours came over the other evening, and I offered him wine "white or red". He asked for red, which I pulled out of the fridge (it had already been opened a few days prior). He sarcastically said "Could you microwave it at least?!" implying that he thought it should not have been in the fridge. Thus, we got into a discussion about why an opened bottle of red wine was in my fridge.

I explained to him that I didn't want it to go bad, he asked for clarification, and I wittingly said that it could go moldy. (Not that I necessarily believe that, but I do assume that it's probably not the best thing to sit an opened bottle of wine on a counter indefinitely.) He scoffed and asked WHAT would go moldy, and I said "it's grape juice", to which he again scoffed. He explained that the "grape juice" ferments in barrels, blah blah blah, and it won't go moldy. I retorted that the rooms/barrels aren't necessarily room temperature, but sometimes chilled.

I am definitely an ameteur when it comes to wine, so I know that many of my assumptions could possibly be wrong.

He seemed quite offended that I was offering him cold red wine. In my house, an opened bottle of wine doesn't always get consumed within a few days of opening, so the reason I stick it in the fridge is to let it last as long as possible before it goes bad (which I realize is probably just a few days anyways).

Do you have any comments on this? I'm sorry I'm so wordy. I really would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter. I KNOW you all have the knowledge to help me figure this all out. [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

Thanks,
Elizabeth

[lizardbrains]

P.S. A few days later he stopped by again. I offered him wine, and he accepted. He finished that bottle of cold Cab. Sauv. (and again asked why it wasn't out on the counter, especially after he told me a few days before that that's where it belongs!); and then I offered him a perfectly room-temperature bottle of Zinfandel (he was much happier!).


Edited to add: The zin is now sitting on the counter! But he better be back over in a day or two, or I'm sure it won't taste so great! [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by lizardbrains (edited 06-12-2004).]

[Thomas]

Lb, the "moldy" part of your explanation is questionable but your reasoning for putting wine in the fridge, white or red, is valid. An open bottle left for another day will oxidize slower if in the fridge instead of at room temperature, and it is oxidation that kills the open bottle. Your friend is wrong and also ungracious to question his host.

[Georgie]

Hmmm...maybe you should offer him a different beverage.

[lizardbrains]

Good advice. Thanks!

Maybe next time the cold red wine might accidentally spill onto him when I hand it to him! ;-) Or maybe he can deal with a SW while he waits for the red to warm up!

-Elizabeth

[bigredwines]

LB, I found this product at my local bottle shop called private preserve.however you serve your wine, cold or warm, this product really works .It is an inert gas that you spray into the bottle before you recork.You can read about it @www.privatepreserve.com It should be available from your local pusher for around 11 bucks a can.